Sunday, July 24, 2011

Will try to finish this for Otakon. Even got special paper for the prints, so fancy~~
This is an idea that's been floating around in my mind for a little while and I decided now was the right time to finally execute it. I'm a bit disappointed with my progress since last year's Otakon, but that's not really the point, just a small additional factor that is forcing me to work right now.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Need to keep getting ready for Otakon instead of blabbing on here, but I feel like I owe an update--

I haven’t really uploaded any new art in a while; part of the reason is that pretty much right before leaving for AM2, I decided to start participating on CreateMyTattoo.com. Sasha had told me about the website a couple of months prior, but I didn’t start participating right away. Since joining, I’ve won a few contests and lost a few. The way I approach the entire venture is: even if I don’t win, the time I invest will pay off in the form of a more complete portfolio. For a while, I’ve really been considering getting into tattooing. It started with people at conventions either inquiring about tattoo design commissions or commenting that my style would work well for tattoos; these comments increased in frequency until the question “Why not?” implanted itself in my mind. Instead of just drawing up designs, however, I would ideally like to find a really good apprenticeship. While I am still not sure what my plans concerning the JET program for next year are, I figure for now I’ll get as much practice in as I can and keep working on the very constant and very general goal of further developing my style.

These are a bit different from designs I would normally take on, but it is a necessary compromise, so to say. And I’m glad to be using my collection of FW inks a lot more now, haha~~

The principles I have been trying to follow so far: (1) paying very careful attention to what the client/commissioner/contest holder wants, and (2) knowing the extent and limits of my own style and abilities, so as to better gauge which challenges to take on. Sometimes I judge accurately, sometimes not so much~

There is an interesting sense of responsibility that comes along with designing a tattoo. The realization that I am drafting something that will permanently go on someone’s body—the first time I experienced it was when I was working on [this design]. People change; their relationships with ideas and past experiences change as well. One of the things I can hope for is that my designs will not eventually become cause for regret.